Ten individuals convicted of cyber-bullying directed at Brigitte Macron
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A court in Paris has found guilty ten people for perpetrating the online harassment of Brigitte Macron, the spouse of France's leader, Emmanuel Macron.
The accused individuals faced allegations of circulating false claims regarding her gender and sexuality, in addition to publishing hurtful comments about the husband and wife's 24-year age gap.
The court delivered suspended jail terms of a maximum of eight months to the perpetrators. The detailed judgment has still to be made public.
A circulating false narrative suggesting that Brigitte Macron is a trans woman has spread widely since her husband's initial election in 2017.
This Monday's court decision in France comes as the Macrons pursuing a libel case in the United States of America against conservative commentator Candace Owens, who has likewise promoted comparable unfounded claims about the Brigitte Macron's gender.
Their legal filing alleges that Owens brushed aside substantial counter-evidence contradicting her allegations in favour of give a platform to established defamers.
Owens has frequently reiterated these claims on her podcast and social networks, and in March 2024 proclaimed that she would stake her entire professional reputation on her belief that Mrs. Macron was born a man.
Brigitte Macron first met her now-husband when she was a teacher at his lycée.
The couple married in 2007, when the man who would become president was 29 and she was in her mid-50s.
